Why are the English not the Dutch? Because they hate windmills, at least those new, sleek sexy types that generate wind power. I learned that today at Hay, where I was speaking about climate change. But with atmospheric CO2 equivalent at around 430ppm, and the threshold of dangerous climate change estimated to be around 450ppm, we don't have a lot of time to argue about it.

So, how to convince the English to be more like the Dutch, and to love their windmills? First, they need to understand that windmills don't chop up many birds, especially if well-sited. If birds were the issue then cats would be banned rather than windmills. It would also help if people asked themselves the question of where they might get their power if not from windmills. Tidal power might work, but many people worry abouit the fate of places like the Severn estuary. Nuclear power might work, but that technology has many opponents, too.

Perhaps I'd be more sympathetic to the wind protestors if they decided that they'd do withoput mains power. That way, we could side-step the thorny issue of how we generate our electricity.

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